Memories of Truth
by Rosemary1234
Summary: What ever happened to Flapjack's parents? How did he ever come to be floating upon seaweed in the middle of the ocean when Bubbie found him? Perhaps, a broken widow, trying to piece her life back together knows the answers?


_**A/N: "shrugs" Idk why exactly I wrote this, but I've always wondered about the origins of Flapjack, so I decided to write this.**_

The young blond woman stepped off of the ship, followed closely by an older, woman with greying hair. Her bright blue eyes filled with happiness to see the harbor she hadn't seen since she was a little girl.

"Slow down Antoinette!" The older woman called to the younger. The younger lady had already taken off into the busy and bustling streets of Stormalong harbor, deaf to her mother's calls.

Antoinette grinned widely as she surveyed the familiar surroundings. The older woman caught up to her.

"Antoinette! Don't you remember anything I taught you when you were young? Ladies do not run like that!" She scolded.

"I am sorry mother, but I haven't visited Aunt and Uncle Nicklebottoms since I was fifteen, and it excites me greatly to be back in Stormalong." Antoinette explained cheerfully, as they passed the quaint shops lined along the edges of the harbor.

Nostalgia tugged at her heart as she remembered days as a school girl, sitting on a stool inside the Candy Barrel, reading, while the shop owner and his son, Larry would serve her mugs of candy.

Of course, her mother had never approved of her spending her free time down in the 'dirty' parts of town, but Antoinette only ever got to visit in the Summer, so she figured it didn't really matter where her time was spent.

"I for one would not have cared if we never visited this place again. There are too many bad memories that still linger." Antoinette's mother said, looking away from her daughter for a moment.

Antoinette's smile faltered. It slipped only for a moment, before a false one crept its way onto her lips.

"Nonsense mother… T-Those times are behind us now…" Antoinette looked down, clearly remembering why they had stayed clear from this little harbor for so many years.

* * *

_Fifteen year old Antoinette was spending the summer with her Aunt, Lady Nicklebottoms._

_It was quite boring, sitting alone in the large private library in her Aunt's estate. Sure, there were plenty of books to read, but after a while of sitting all day in her Uncle, Lord Nicklebottoms arm chair,_ _Antoinette had become lonely. _

_She_ _found her way to the front door of the mansion, hoping no one would notice. _

"_What are you doing Lady Antoinette?" Antoinette cursed to herself and spun around to see her Aunt's young butler Charles watching her expectantly._

"_Please inform my Aunt that I am… Going out for the moment, Charles." Antoinette said, before opening the door and hurrying outside into the private gardens._

"_I wonder how Larry and his father are…" Antoinette found herself thinking, as she made her way into lower Stormalong towards the infamous Candy Barrel._

* * *

_As Antoinette happily picked a peppermint from her cup, she overheard two gruff looking adventurers talking at another table._

"_I swear I ain't lyin'! Thems' Cap'n 'as discovered a map that 'e says 'ill lead 'em right to the shadow masked treasure o' Cap'n Rot Tooth the 3__rd__." One of the men explained. _

"_Excuse me, good sirs, but did you say The Shadow Masked Treasure of Captain Rot Tooth 3__rd__?" Antoinette asked anxiously. _

_She had read books about the lost treasure, and it sounded like quite the pleasurable adventure. Anything to get away from her boring Aunt's house for a little while longer._

"_That I did girly. What's it to ya'?" He growled. _

"_And where might I find this 'Captain', with this 'map'." Antoinette asked eagerly._

_The man looked weary for a moment, before opening his mouth to reply._

* * *

_Antoinette boarded the creaky old ship that was to take her on the voyage to find the Shadow Masked Treasure. _

_It wasn't easy, but after a long time of arguing that a woman could too go on a quest to collect loot, with the Captain of the ship, he had grudgingly agreed to let her temporarily join the ship's crew._

_Antoinette sat upon a barrel and took a book from her handbag. She quickly flipped the pages until landing on the current chapter she was reading._

"_Oi, John m' boy! Get them sails ready!" One member of the crew called. _

_Antoinette looked up, and found that he had been talking to a young boy around the age of seventeen. He looked her way and smiled. Antoinette felt her heart flutter, and a blush creep onto her cheeks. _

_She shook her head and returned to the book. It was about an expedition to find the very treasure they were now searching for, only gone horribly wrong._

* * *

_Later that evening, as the swash bucklers danced and sang and drank, Antoinette watched with mild amusement. She heard a voice behind her and looked up. _

"_Why's a pretty little lady like you on a boat with us unclean menfolk?" It was the boy from earlier. _

_His caramel brown bangs hung around in his face, and one side was partly pulled bag with a band._

"_My Aunt's home is very dull. I suppose I just needed to get out for a bit." She replied stretching out against the barrels stacked behind her._

_He nodded. _

"_What's your name?" The boy asked, staring at her with deep eyes, as blue as the sea. _

"_Antoinette." She replied, sitting up straighter to look him back in the eyes. Again, he nodded._

"_My names' Johnathan. But the crew calls 'me John or Johnny." He said. Antoinette smiled. _

"_That's a nice name. I've always fancied the name Johnathan." She said with a small laugh, which he returned. _

_Maybe this new friendship, if given time, would blossom into something more._

* * *

_Over the course of the next few years, Johnathan and Antoinette became closer._

_The crew had failed to find the Shadow Masked Treasure, but it had surprisingly had no effect whatsoever on the two new friends, and the expedition had only brought them nearer to eachother._

_Two years later, Johnathan asked for her hand in marriage, and Antoinette had happily said yes. _

_It wasn't long before Antoinette became with child, and the couple felt happier than ever before._

_Johnathan eventually obtained his own ship, and the two of them sailed the seas together, waiting for the birth of their future child._

_Then, disaster struck._

_A month after the birth of their new son, an aggressive storm hit. _

_The boat was rocked this way and that, as waves threatened to rip apart the hull. Antoinette found refuge in the ship's interior, with most of their crew, including the nurse maids. _

_But in the end, the unexpected tempest had blown the ship to bits, killing most of the crew, including Johnathan._

_Antoinette recalled the moment her baby was carried out of her arms to the storm's mercy._

_A strong gust had taken the infant overboard, never to be seen again. _

_Antoinette had sobbed into Johnathan's shoulder, as he rubbed her back soothingly._

* * *

_After the sinking of the ship, Antoinette had been near death, floating upon debris in the waves. If another ship had not found and rescued her, she would have been dead._

_But it didn't matter. It didn't matter because, in a way, Antoinette was dead inside. Her husband was gone. Her baby was gone. Her friends were gone as well. _

_When she had returned to her mother's home in England, it had taken over a year for her to move on. Though, she never courted again, and refused to have any suitors, Antoinette was still a desirable young woman. Her mother had once told her that desirable young women, also needed to be strong young women. _

_Those words in a sense had saved her from completely drowning in grief and joining her dead companions. _

_Antoinette had not returned to Stormalong the next summer, nor the summer after that. The memories of her past happiness were too painful to face. _

_But one summer, around seven years since the tragic incident, Antoinette and her mother Aurelia had decided it was time to pay a visit to Aunt Nicklebottoms once again._

* * *

Twenty Five Year old Antoinette stared at the Candy Barrel, a place where she and Johnathan had eaten together many times in the past. Her mother put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I know it was not fair my dear. Believe me, Johnathan was a fine lad, and he took very good care of you." Aurelia spoke to her daughter.

Antoinette nodded, with her head hung.

"Mother, do you think we could visit the Candy Barrel again? For old times' sake?" Antoinette asked.

Aurelia sighed.

"Now, you know I never liked when you went to that place. And your Aunt is probably waiting for us. Maybe another time we could-" Antoinette cut her off.

"No mother… I _need_ to visit the Candy Barrel one last time." Antoinette looked at her mother pleadingly.

Aurelia stared at her daughter for a moment before giving in.

"Alright…" She said.

Antoinette smiled, and practically dragged her mother into the barrel shaped building. She sat atop a stool just like she did when she was a but a little girl.

A thin and familiar man stepped over to greet them. He beamed across the counter.

"Antoinette! Aurelia! Good to see ya! I haven't seen you two since… How long has it been?" The man, known to Stormalong harbor as Peppermint Larry asked.

Antoinette laughed. Larry was still the same childhood friend she remembered.

"What would you like Annie? Your usual?" Peppermint Larry asked.

"You still remember?" Antoinette said.

"Of course! Why, I put so many peppermints in that order, I started callin' myself Peppermint Larry! And what do ya know. The name stuck." He said with a laugh, handing her a mug full to the brim with different candies, particularly peppermints.

"Why, thank you Larry." Antoinette politely said.

Just then, the door swung open and two figures walked in. One was an old man with… Wooden legs? The other person was a young, somewhat familiar blond boy. Antoinette's eyes became a little wider.

"Well howdy Flapjack! Howdy Knuckles!" Peppermint Larry greeted to the newcomers.

_**A/N: I don't know if I'll write more to this, but if I get some reviews I will. :) SO PLEASE REVIEW.**_

_**Edit: 08/20/14 Okay guys, I've decided to leave this as a cliffhanger one shot. Maybe I'll write more about this in the future and maybe I won't. Just don't expect me to update this again.**_

_**With Love, From Rosemary! ;)**_


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